SXSW FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, written and directed by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee alongside co-writer Alison Duke, explores the mystery of what happened to the titular American soul singer. In the 1960s, Shane took Montreal and Toronto by storm before disappearing in 1970. Born in Nashville with a rough childhood, Shane, a talented singer from a young age, caught the attention of Little Richard. As her prospects in the dangerous South were limited, Shane joined a traveling circus and filled the tents.
Shane left the circus when it pulled into the small beach community of Cornwell, Canada, after noticing a sharp adjustment in attitudes toward her. She hit the clubs in Montreal, which were controlled by the mob then, as they ran drugs and other goodies through them. The singer was an instant sensation, which drew her some dangerous attention from the gangsters. It was in Toronto that Shane found a home. Her residency at the Sapphire Club had happy paying customers lined up around the block. It was where Shane’s live record, the only full-length album of hers released, was recorded. Right when the audiences were at a fever pitch, Shane completely vanished off the face of the Earth. Where did she go, and why did she leave it all behind?
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story will draw audiences in due to its intriguing historical perspective. Shane was able to transition in public during the 1960s. The same allowance granted by society for male performers to get done up in make-up and costumes, like Alice Cooper or David Bowie, was being used as a tool for transformation by Shane. This was the sword she lived and died by; she even refused to appear on Ed Sullivan because they refused to let her wear make-up. Shane also turned down America Bandstand because they wouldn’t allow Black children in the audience. During her career, she was forced to present as a man because there weren’t any other choices. The publicity spots she had to write for herself using male pronouns are chilling, as those are the only parts of the film where they are used.
“…when the audiences were at a fever pitch, Shane completely vanished…”
Once on stage, Shane’s shimmering appearance and angelic voice project total femininity. Even when dressed in a men’s suit, she looks like a woman blasting that Victor/Victoria vibe. Her family and fellow musicians use female pronouns throughout. Other than as a toddler in overalls, Shane’s look skews female throughout the pictures of her childhood and adolescence. It was through the attention-getting sparkles and wild hairstyles of her stage garb that Shane got to show who she really was onstage: a woman who wasn’t being allowed to be herself. Several prominent trans women artists, such as Sandra Caldwell, read from Shane’s handwritten autobiography to give more context and gravitas to important moments.
Imagine the task Mabbott and Rosenberg-Lee faced making a music documentary with nearly no live performances. This is overcome by AOK’s sumptuous animation that looks like moving paintings, bringing photos of Shane to life over rotoscoped footage of actress Makayla Couture. There are also many animated sequences of Shane late in her life giving her story on the phone, all done up like Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard. In many ways, this approach is superior to live action in that it can transmit the energy that Shane radiated in a more stylized way.
The revolutionary techniques used here open the doors for documentaries of other significant figures in music that lack the catalog of appearances to fill your usual rock doc. Shane’s life as an amazing R&B singer, who also happened to be a trans woman pioneer, is a major missing chapter in pop music lore. Mabbott and Rosenberg-Lee stylishly allow viewers to rediscover her and her impressive skill set. Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is an eye-opening, jaw-dropping, foot-stomping wave of jubilation that will ring forever more.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story screened at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.
"…eye-opening, jaw-dropping, foot-stomping..."
